The Complete Chester Races 2026
Guide to Fixtures & Events

The Roodee — A History 500 Years in the Making

Chester Racecourse is officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest racecourse still in operation in the world. Racing has taken place on The Roodee since the early 16th century — with 1539 most widely cited as the year of the first recorded race, held on 9 February that year with the consent of Mayor Henry Gee. It is his name, according to popular tradition, that gave rise to the English term gee-gee for horses.

The site itself is far older than the racing. The 65-acre ground on the banks of the River Dee was once a functioning harbour during the Roman occupation of the city. As the river silted up in the Early Middle Ages and navigation became impossible, the harbour fell out of use and the land reverted to open ground. The Romans had moored trading vessels against what is now the eastern side of the racecourse — the same stretch of ancient city wall from which visitors can still watch races today, for free.

Before racing replaced it, the Roodee was home to the Goteddsday football match — a famously violent medieval game played on Shrove Tuesday. The city banned it in 1533 due to the injuries it caused, and six years later replaced it with horse racing. The first races ran on Shrove Tuesday, as the Goteddsday tradition had done, until 1609, after which they moved to St George's Day.

Early race winners were awarded the Chester Bells — a set of three decorative bells for adorning the horse's bridle, given for winning a race five times round the course. From 1744, the prize became the Grosvenor Gold Cup, a small tumbler made from solid gold (later silver). By 1745 the meeting had expanded to four days. In 1766 the May Festival was introduced — the forerunner of the Boodles May Festival that remains the centrepiece of the modern racing calendar. The Chester Cup, arguably the most prestigious race at the course, was first introduced in 1824 as the Tradesmen's Cup Race.

The first grandstand was completed in 1817. An admittance fee was not charged until 1897. That stand was rebuilt in 1899–1900, and destroyed by arson in 1985 — the current grandstand complex replacing it. The restaurant 1539, opened on site in 2008, takes its name from the year of the first recorded race. The Grosvenor Bridge at the racecourse's south-eastern corner was, at the time of its opening, the longest single-arch bridge in the world.

Today the racecourse is the smallest of significance in England at just over one mile in length, racing flat and anti-clockwise. Its notoriously short straight — only 239 yards — means long-striding horses are at a significant disadvantage, making Chester a specialist's track that consistently rewards handlers with an intimate knowledge of its unusual demands. Racing at Chester has been broadcast on ITV Racing since 2017.

Why Visit the Roodee

Chester Racecourse isn't just a day at the races — it's a day inside one of England's most historically layered places, with the Roman city walls on one side and the River Dee on the other. Here is why it belongs on your Chester itinerary.